Cattle-guard.



F. SPENCER. CATTLE GUARD. APPLICATION FILED MAY 11, 1911.

1,005,347. Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

1 mm K\ m WITNESSES [NVE/VTOR \FY-STJQUQQP FRED SPENCER, 0F TENINO,WASHINGTON.

CATTLE-GUARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 11, 1911.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

Serial No. 626,452.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, F RED SPENCER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Tenino, in the county of Thurston and State of IVashington,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cattle-Guards; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to cattle guards and more particularly to cattleguards placed at railway crossings to prevent cattle from CIOSSiIlg orwalking along the track.

An object of the invention is-to provide a cattle guard which willeffectively perform its purpose and yet be out of the way of rods,chains, brake beams, etc., on passing trains.

Another object is to provide a cattle guard of the above statedcharacter, which will not harm the cattle, but will prevent the latterfrom standing on the track at the crossing, and,

Another object is to provide a cattle guard of the above stated nature,which will be positive in operation, simple in construction and cheap tomanufacture and install.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter set forth and pointedout in the specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application,Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cattle guard as positioned at acrossing. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view through one of the guardplates as positioned above the tie, showing in dotted lines the positionassumed by the guard plate when weight is applied to one edge thereof,and, Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 represents the guardplates, which are curved in substantially semicircular form and havetheir lower edges turned or curved under, as shown at 2, the purpose ofwhich will later appear.

The plates 1 are preferably made of strong.

metal and are supported and spaced above the ties by means of L-shapedstuds or pivot brackets 3, which have one of their right angled portionssecured to the ties by bolts or other fastening means 4, and their upperends reduced and rounded, as shown at 5, forming the shoulders 6 uponopposite sides of said reduced ends 5. The plates 1 are provided withsuitable openings 7 through the highest or central portions thereof toallow the reduced rounded ends 5 of the studs 3 to project through saidplates and support the latter in balanced position. The plates 1 whenupon the studs 3, rest against the shoulders 6 to more readily returnsaid plates to their normal positions. To prevent the plates 1 fromworking or running off of the studs 3, the cotter pins 8 are passedthrough horizontal openings in the upper rounded ends 5 of said studs,above the plates 1. It will be understood that any number of studs 3 maybe employed for supporting each guard plate 1, but I have onlyillustrated two such studs for each plate, one being positioned neareach end of said plates.

The guard plates 1 are preferably made in two lengths, the short ones tobe supported above the ties 9 outwardly of the rails 10 of the track,while the long plates 1 are supported in a similar manner above the ties9, inwardly of the rails extending from within a short distance of onerail 10 to within a like distance of the opposite rail 10.

Should any of the cattle step upon the plates 1, the foot of the animalwould slide to one edge and press the plate or plates downwardly,causing the opposite edge or edges to move upwardly, the plate or platesrocking upon the studs 3 until the plate assumes the position shown indotted lines in Fig. 2. In this position the lower edge 2 is against thetie 9, while the upper edge 2 is about on a plane with the upper edgesof the rails 10.

As the edges of the guard plates 1 are curved or rounded, as previouslydescribed, it is evident that all possibility of chains, etc., dependingfrom passing trains coming in contact with the edges of the plate andbeing caught thereby, is entirely eliminated. It will also be seen thatas soon as any weight, causing one of the edges of a guard plate 1 tomove downwardly, is removed, the plate will resume its normal position.It will also be impossible for a foot to be caught between the edges oftwo of the guard plates 1, or into the rounded edges of said plates.

On account of the guard plates 1 being curved downwardly from the centertoward either side, all ashes or cinders from a passing train as well assnow and other material falling upon these parts, will slide to theedges and off of plates and drop between the ties 9.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a cattle guard of extremelysimple construction and positive Operation, and one which may be cheaplymanufactured and installed. It will also be evident that should any oneof the plates or supports become worn or broken, it may be quickly andreadily replaced, without loss of time. The entire cat tle guard may besecured in position or removed in an extremely short period of time,without interfering with the schedule of the trains or compelling anytrains to stop while the workmen are installing or removing the guard.

hat I claim is:

1. A cattle guard comprising curved metallic plates having their loweropposite edges curved under to form rounded edges, angular studs adaptedto be secured upon ties of a track, said studs having rounded upper endsto receive said plates, said studs also having shoulders below saidrounded ends and upon opposite sides thereof, said plates resting uponsaid shoulders, said plates adapted to be tilted to either side whenweight is applied upon that side, said plates adapted to return to theirnormal positions when the pressure thereupon is relieved, cotter pinssecured through the rounded upper ends of said studs above said platesto prevent the latter from working off of said studs.

2. A cattle guard comprising metallic plates curved to form an arc of acircle in cross section and having their edges curved under to formrounded edges, supporting studs for said plates and means to hold theplates in position on said studs.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRED SPENCER.

Witnesses:

C. A. KENWORTHY, O. E. MoCAUDLnN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

